Audits-Pillar of any system

Audits-Pillar of any system
Audits are the Action Undertaken for Deviation Identification To Sustain

Audits are very important part of any PDCA cycle. To proceed further, lets explain PDCA cycle.

Plan, Do, Check, Act:- These are very important step of any type activity/project to be successful. Project may be related to engineering, management, social etc.

Rightly said, “To cut a tree, 80% of time should be used for sharpening the axe & remaining 20% to hit at the trunk.” Indeed, Planning plays very important part for any activity.

Implementing as per planning is equally important. Once, the system is in place, Check as per desired specification is important to find the gaps. Corrective action should be taken for filling the gaps.

Audits are an important tools for “check” step of the PDCA cycle. There are different types of audits. Few of them are as given below:

Routine Checks: These are the audits taken at scheduled intervals for monitoring the performance of an established systems. These can be internal & external.

Internal audits are for monitoring own performance with established rules & procedures.

External audits are to map our performance with national & international standards.

Pre startup checks: These type of audits are taken up before commissioning of any project to find out gaps that may result in loss after start up of the equipment/machine etc.

The Audits can also be categorized as :

First party: These are done by internal resources. These may be done by same department or by cross functional teams. Person from shop floor, middle management, upper management, leadership level can be engaged depending on importance & criticality of system.

Second Party: The team can be formed from different location of same company. This brings learning of different sites together.

Third Party: Consultants can be hired to get best knowledge available in market.

Audits helps in finding fault at right time & acting immediately, so that further consequences can be avoided.